Vilafranca – Festa Major Day 3Vilafranca – Festa Major Tag 3

Today I managed to see one part of the activities. Mind you, it took 6 hours. At half past 11 the dancers set off once more, this time doing their choreograhpy on a stage in front of the town hall so everybody could get a good view. The highlight today were the diables. They have made it their mission to be frank and straightforward with the politicians, the mayor and everybody else in charge at the town hall. Criticizing them for everything gone amiss according to the citizens in the last year.

With humor and in verse but nonetheless harsh, telling not just one of the culprits to pack their bags and run. Nobody gets away unshorn.

The themes range from the ban on bullfighting, the invalidity of the constitution, corruption, nepotism, immigration to the missing plants on the newly reconstructured main square. Nothing is left out. For the town hall staff attendance seems to be compulsory, because they are all up there on the town hall balcony having to endure the damnation of the diables whilst the audience laughs and applaudes.

It takes a while for tempers to settle and discussions amongst people on the square and up on the balcony to fade out.

Around 15 hrs starts the next actuation: the castellers. Same as the day before towers are being build and every one succesfully mantled and dismantled is frenetically celebrated. An almost familiar atmosphere is being created as the public gets asked to assist the bottom team to strenghten the castell. The last tower gets build so close to the town hall that the participants are being hoisted over the balcony into the building. Now the musicians play a final tune and everyone feels being part of all this whilst they go singing and dancing on a triumphant tour through the streets.Heute habe ich nur einen Programmpunkt absolviert, dieser hat jedoch 6 Stunden gedauert. Um Halb 12 gingen die offiziellen Tänze nochmals los, diesmal aber auf einer richtigen Bühne vor dem Rathaus. Erhöht, gut einzusehen und weil Dienstag ist, waren auch nicht so viele Leute da, so daß man sich gut bewegen konnte.